WisdomTree Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:WT)

WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 24,274 call options on the company. This is an increase of 3,464% compared to the typical volume of 681 call options.

Insider Transactions at WisdomTree

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,140,245 shares in the company, valued at $19,201,725.80. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WisdomTree

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in WisdomTree by 163.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in WisdomTree by 1,679.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

WisdomTree Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:WT opened at $14.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 1.09. WisdomTree has a 1-year low of $7.47 and a 1-year high of $17.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.75.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $147.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.78 million. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 22.10%.The firm’s revenue was up 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that WisdomTree will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. WisdomTree’s payout ratio is 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WisdomTree in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on WisdomTree from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $16.75 price objective on WisdomTree in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research upgraded WisdomTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on WisdomTree from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.45.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree Investments, Inc (NYSE: WT) is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.